Disclosed herein is a vehicle seat, and particularly a vehicle seat which can retract a seat back and a seat cushion in a refraction floor formed in a position lower than a vehicle body floor.
Conventionally, vehicle seats have been known in which a seat cushion and a seat back that configure a seat body can be retracted in a refraction floor formed in a position lower than a vehicle body floor. Among those vehicle seats, there is a vehicle rear seat which is configured such that a seat body is tilted forward to be refracted in a refraction floor arranged at a front side of the seat.
A pivot link connecting between the seat body and the refraction floor and pivoting relative to the refraction floor is known as a mechanism which retracts the seat body. This pivot link pivots to thereby move a seat cushion to the refraction floor in a state where a seat back is folded onto the seat cushion (for example, see Japanese Patent Document No. H09-315189A (“the '189 Document”)).
The seat described in the '189 Document includes a front leg link which is connected to a front portion of the seat cushion to pivot relative to the retraction floor and a rear leg link which is connected to a rear portion of the seat cushion to pivot relative to a vehicle body floor.
At the time of a retracting operation of the seat body, the seat back is folded toward the seat cushion and the front leg link is made to pivot forward of the seat about a pivot shaft which is arranged on the refraction floor; thereby, the seat body is configured to be retracted in the retraction floor.
In addition, slide rails are fixed to the retraction floor and the vehicle body floor, respectively, and the seat body is configured to be movable relative to the slide rails in a front to back direction of the seat.
Further, a vehicle seat described in Japanese Patent Document No. 2009-067309A (“the '309 Document”) is provided with a refraction structure including: an attachment shaft which is attached to a vehicle body floor to support a seat back so that the seat back pivots; and a retractable leg member which is pivotally supported by a retaining groove fixed on a retraction floor and which supports a front portion of a seat cushion.
At the time of a retracting operation of a seat body, the seat back pivots relative to the vehicle body floor to move the seat cushion to the retraction floor and the retractable leg member pivots about the retaining groove in conjunction with the seat back; thereby, the seat body is configured to be refracted in the refraction floor.
In addition, the retractable leg member is detached from the retaining groove; thereafter, the vehicle seat can shift from a seated state where an occupant can be seated to a tip-up state where the seat cushion is tipped up.
However, the seat that can retract the seat body in the refraction floor as in the '189 Document is provided with a complicated refraction structure in order to retract the seat body in a such a way that components such as the pivot link for pivoting the seat body, the slide rails for sliding the seat body in the front to back direction, and a lock member for locking the seat body after the seat body is refracted are attached not only to a surface of the vehicle body floor at which the seat body is arranged, but also to a surface of the refraction floor.
Therefore, a vehicle seat which can be retracted in a retraction floor by a simple structure is desired.
Further, in the seat as in the '189 Document, the components of the refraction structure are attached to the surface of the retraction floor; therefore, space-saving ability of the surface of the refraction floor is deteriorated.
In particular, in a vehicle seat which can shift from a seated state where an occupant can be seated not only to a refracted state where a seat body is retracted but also to a tip-up state where the seat body is tipped up, a refraction space may narrow when the vehicle seat is in the tip-up state.
Therefore, a vehicle seat which can secure a large retraction space without the arrangement of components of a refraction structure on a surface of a retraction floor is desired.
Furthermore, the seat as in the '309 Document, the leg member supporting the seat cushion is connected between the seat cushion and the retraction floor, therefore being an elongated member.
Thus, in the event of shifting the seat body between the seated state and the tip-up state, an operation to detach the leg member from the retaining groove or fit the leg member into the retaining groove is required. However, an entire length of the leg member is long and therefore a pivotal range thereof in a front to back direction increases. As a result, the operation to fit the leg member into the retaining groove is difficult.
Therefore, a vehicle seat which easily shifts from a seated state is desired.